Ilja Dragunov Talks WWE Departure, Says Their Offer To Retain Him Wasn't 'Satisfying'

After weeks of rumors, and vignettes on AEW programming, Ilja Dragunov made his AEW debut at WrestleDream. The star came out for his full entrance, then sat down alongside AEW President Tony Khan during the post-show press conference, where it was revealed he will make his in-ring debut on "AEW Dynamite."

Ahead of stepping back in the ring on TV for the first time since April, Dragunov appeared on "The Ariel Helwani Show" to discuss his WWE departure. It was revealed that Dragunov's contract expired in August, and the star told Helwani that the story of his departure isn't very exciting.

"I love what I do. I want to compete. I want to work," Dragunov said. "It just got a little stuck. But, it's nothing new to anybody. It was pretty obvious. So, the time just passed by and then I reached the expiration of my contract... I felt over time that, 'Okay, with how everything is working out and how I'm feeling, because I make a lot of [decisions] depending on how I feel about it, I've always had the courage to do so, I feel it is time to breathe some new, fresh air.'"

The star said that despite things written online at the time, WWE had no intention of letting him go. He said his departure was the accumulation of many things, including what he wanted creatively. Dragunov said he pondered the scenery change, and if it was somewhere if he could see himself staying "forever."

"I spent most of my 20s in WWE," he explained. "That's a very, very long time. The landscape in this beautiful business changed... For me, personally, after such a long time being with a company, to not seek out new opportunities, maybe another place more fitting, who wouldn't do that?"

Dragunov reiterated that his departure story isn't as exciting as it was made out to be. He said at some points in WWE, you just don't have creative and are waiting for the opportunities to come. He explained that a lot of new people came up toward the end of his time in WWE, and there is only so much time for so many people. When Helwani inquired as to whether or not Dragunov was asked to take a pay cut, like New Level's Kofi and Austin Creed, AEW's newest star stayed mum on the topic.

"To be honest, I'm much too discrete and too much of a businessman and a gentleman myself to talk about these kind of things," Dragunov said. "Everything I can say, is there was nothing I felt satisfying, and nothing that gave me the perspective of, 'Okay, I must stick with it [here.]'"

"The Mad Dragon" said he's always had faith in himself and he's never been one to question his beliefs. He explained he always follows his gut feelings in life, and it's always worked out for him. The star said that many people want to change, but that change requires courage.

"It also requires [dealing] with the possibility that things could not work out your way. I was aware of all these things," he said. "April was the last point in time I was in the ring. The feeling that maybe, 'I'm not right where I am.' I already had it before... It all came down to bet on myself and believe it's going to be alright. That's what I did my entire 14-year-long professional wrestling career."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.